Pyrrhic Victory
by toxic64
Summary: A young man reunites with his brother while in college and ends up becoming an assassin.


WARNING: This piece contains some acts of extreme violence.

Pyrrhic Victory

"Faith"

Written by River Kali

FIVE YEARS INTO THE FUTURE...

INT. CHURCH - DAY

Empty and desolate. Gunfire and explosions can be heard from

outside. A PRIEST in his mid-thirties walks in. Worry,

regret, and fear mar his dark, handsome features.

He goes to kneel at the statue of Jesus in the front of the

church. He gesticulates the cross over his body.

PRIEST

Forgive me, Lord, for it has been

over twenty years since my last

confession. I am here, not for

myself, but for my brother. I have

destroyed his soul, and many

others. It is because of this that

I ask that you make sure he gets

into Heaven. Amen.

He gesticulates the cross over his body once more, then

stands. He turns toward the back of the church, the turmoil

outside filling him with dread. He walks slowly towards the

exit as...

PRESENT

EXT. CEMETERY - DAY

Grave workers lower a casket into the ground. A large group

of mourners stand by, watching.

One in particular stands out. He's a young man of twenty-one

with dark good looks (Short dark hair and dark brown eyes,

with porcelain skin). Under normal circumstances, he's the

male Pollyana, but seeing as how he's at a funeral, he's

morose. His name is RAPHAEL SYKES.

After the casket is put in the ground, all the attendees give

Raphael their condolences, then break off and leave. Save

for the one standing next to him: TERRENCE EPSTEIN. He's the

same age as Raphael, but nowhere near as attractive. He's

gawky and geeky with shaggy black hair, brown eyes, and a

lanky body.

RAPHAEL

You don't have to stay with me,

Terrence.

TERRENCE

And you don't have to be alone. I

don't have anything else to do.

RAPHAEL

Thanks, but I kinda wanna be alone

right now, you know?

Terrence nods understandingly, then leaves. Raphael watches

the casket being covered with dirt. PRIEST CONNORS pats

Raphael on the back before he leaves. This is a different

priest from the one in the flash forward. This one's elderly

and balding. A few moments, then:

MAN'S VOICE

Oh man, I missed it.

Raphael recognizes the voice. He turns around to face the

Man. A look of shock overcomes him.

He's the priest from the first scene, but he doesn't look as

world weary and sullen as he does in the future. He looks

like an older, more intense and serious version of Raphael.

He goes by MICHAEL "MIKE" SYKES.

Raphael's shocked look turns to one of anger. He hurls

himself at Mike, pushing him in the chest. Mike stops the

assault by grabbing Raphael's arms.

The grave diggers stop what they're doing to check out the

drama unfolding before them.

MIKE

You haven't seen me for years and

this is your first reaction? I was

expecting happiness and joy. Or at

least "Hi."

Calmed down, Raphael pulls himself out of Mike's hands.

RAPHAEL

That's because you're stupid. What

are you doing here?

MIKE

Grandma dies and I don't show up

for the funeral? No way.

RAPHAEL

You didn't show up for Grandpa's

funeral.

MIKE

That's because I didn't like him.

RAPHAEL

That's not funny.

Seeing as how the fight's over, the grave diggers go back to

work.

MIKE

It wasn't supposed to be.

Raphael walks away from Mike.

RAPHAEL

I'm going home.

Following after him:

MIKE

How are you gonna afford the bills

on grandma's place? You don't have

a job and you're going to NYU full

time.

Raphael stops and spins to face him.

RAPHAEL

How do you know all that?

MIKE

Because I'm not stupid.

RAPHAEL

Why do you care? You got to see

the remnants of the funeral. Now

you can disappear for another

fifteen years.

MIKE

I know I haven't been around...

lately, but I'm here to make up for

it.

RAPHAEL

How?

MIKE

I want you to come live with me,

all expenses paid.

Mike smiles, thinking he's just done the greatest thing in

the world. Raphael just stares at him in disbelief.

RAPHAEL

You want to take me in? Why?

MIKE

You're my baby brother.

RAPHAEL

That didn't stop you from leaving

me before.

MIKE

How many times are you gonna throw

that in my face?

Raphael takes a moment to think.

RAPHAEL

Well, it's not like I can pay for

NYU all by myself and I really

don't wanna go without cable - you

do have cable, right?

(Mike nods)

So... okay.

MIKE

(smiling)

Okay.

They start walking.

EXT. ROAD - DAY

A black Lexus SUV speeds down the road.

INT. MIKE'S LEXUS SUV - DAY

Mike's driving. Raphael's riding shotgun. Raphael, being

inside such a cool vehicle, can't help but smile.

RAPHAEL

You sure do live far out.

(re: SUV)

Is this an LX-570?

MIKE

Yep.

RAPHAEL

Sure is a beauty. How much did you

pay for it?

MIKE

I don't remember.

RAPHAEL

You buy this sweet ride and you

don't remember how much you paid

for it? How is that even possible?

They come upon a large mansion with a large garage attached

to the side of it.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - GARAGE - DAY

The garage door opens. Mike's Lexus pulls in. The door

closes. It's now pitch black.

CLICK!

And the lights are on. Mike and Raphael get out, with

Raphael looking around. He sees that this garage is not only

bigger than most people's houses, it's also kept up better

than them, too.

There's about a dozen cars in here and several motorcycles

(All top of the line: BMW, Porsche, Jaguar, Lexus, and

Hummer.), all in mint condition.

This majestic beauty leaves Raphael practically speechless.

All he can manage is:

RAPHAEL

So... what's the house look like?

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Overtly opulent in a guy way: Big screen TV, video game

consoles (They all look more advanced than anything that the

average consumer can afford), black leather lazy boys, etc.

Raphael walks in. He's even more awestruck by the

awesomeness of the living room, than he was by the garage.

Mike comes up behind him, smiling proudly.

RAPHAEL

Wow. Okay, first, you drive a

Lexus and everything else, but the

kitchen sink, and now you live in

the best mansion ever? What do you

do for a living?

MIKE

It's nothing you'd be interested

in.

RAPHAEL

(taking umbrage)

How do you know what I'd be

interested in? We haven't seen

each other in over a decade. The

last time you saw me I was in

single digits...

Raphael's voice drifts off as ALLEYLEAH enters. She's a

tall, caramel-colored goddess with long jet black hair down to her

waist. She's bitchy, but in a sexy way.

Raphael is quite taken by her beauty.

RAPHAEL

(to Alleyleah)

Hi, I'm Mike's brother, Raphael.

He extends his hand to shake hers. Alleyleah looks at Mike

to check the veracity of Raphael's statement. Mike nods.

They shake hands.

ALLEYLEAH

Alleyleah.

RAPHAEL

Are you Mike's girlfriend?

She laughs.

RAPHAEL

Oh, I'm sorry. His wife.

She laughs even harder.

RAPHAEL

Help me out here, Mike.

MIKE

She's a friend.

ALLEYLEAH

(to Mike)

Can we go somewhere to talk?

MIKE

Follow me.

They go off further in the house, leaving Raphael alone.

RAPHAEL

(calling out to them)

Oh no, don't worry about me, I'll

just take a tour on my own.

He smiles.

UPSTAIRS

Raphael comes up the staircase. The upstairs looks just as

nice as the downstairs. He opens the first door on the

right.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - MIKE'S BEDROOM - DAY

Raphael enters. The room has no decoration except for a flat

screen TV.

Raphael goes to the night stand. He picks up a picture

sitting on it. It's a picture of a little boy and a woman in

her thirties posing for the camera. They're wearing clothing

from the eighties. Raphael looks at the picture wistfully.

MIKE (O.S.)

Raphael?

Raphael starts. He puts the picture back where he got it.

RAPHAEL

Coming!

He exits.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Raphael runs down the stairs. He sees Mike and Alleyleah in

dress clothes.

RAPHAEL

Boy, don't you guys look fancy?

MIKE

What were you doing upstairs?

RAPHAEL

Just looking for a room for my

stuff.

MIKE

Next time, ask.

Raphael nods.

RAPHAEL

So where you guys headed?

MIKE

To a party.

Before Raphael can speak:

MIKE

No, you can't come. Stay in and do

your homework.

RAPHAEL

I'm not a kid.

MIKE

Close enough.

Mike and Alleyleah leave.

INT. DINING HALL - NIGHT

This is a black-tie event. People move around, drinking

champagne and admiring the odd, singular statues in the room.

A group of odd looking creatures in tuxes walk around

carrying trays of food and glasses of champagne. They have

eggplant colored flesh with veins popping out all over their

muscular bodies. They have human facial features.

There's an elderly man, wearing a black, plastic gown, having

a conversation with a group of other men his age. The

eccentrically dressed man goes by ALDERON.

Mike and Alleyleah walk through the room, apparently taking

in all the art. Mike has glasses on. He scans the room.

The glasses give him x-ray vision, allowing him to see

through people's clothes (Unfortunately for him, most of the

guests' bodies could use a lot of work) and more importantly,

through walls.

ALLEYLEAH

(to Mike)

You see it yet?

He shakes his head.

ALLEYLEAH

Try upstairs. Why didn't you tell

your brother the truth?

Mike looks up, his eyes scanning the entire ceiling.

MIKE

I did. I told him we were going to

a party.

ALLEYLEAH

You know what I mean.

MIKE

Because he doesn't need to know.

He looks down, his eyes moving over every piece of the floor.

He stops over by a corner on the other side of the room.

MIKE

Found it.

ALDERON (O.S.)

Alright, everyone, I'd like you all

outside for the fireworks.

Mike gives Alleyleah a "Damn" look. She rolls her eyes, and

with a wave of her hand, the power goes out. The place is

pitch black. Literally, a second later, the power is back

on, and Mike is no where to be found.

ALDERON

(to his guests)

Which one of you did that?

Murmurs from the crowd show that it was none of them.

ALDERON

Guess it really was just a power

outage, then. Let's go outside.

Everyone begins to file out. Alleyleah's the last to leave.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

Mike skulks in. This place looks more like Fort Knox than a

basement. There's a large safe in the wall all the way to

the end. Mike goes to it, looks at it with a disdainful

smile.

He pulls a spider-like metal gizmo out of his pocket and

places it on the safe. The gizmo begins spinning like crazy,

with electronic blips going off. The door to the safe flies

open, revealing a room filled with artifacts floating high in

the air.

Mike eyes each of them until he finds the one he's looking

for: A blue and gold sphere. It's the size of an orange.

He begins jogging in place and doesn't stop until he's worked

up a good sweat. He takes off his glasses, then strips off

his tux and protective armor that was underneath it.

He is now down to his boxers and it's a bit of an

understatement to say that he could moonlight as an underwear

model. He wears antistatic wrist and ankle straps.

INT. SAFE - NIGHT

He moves in with the stealth of a cat and grabs the sphere by

doing a triple somersault.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

He comes back out and quickly puts his clothes and glasses

back on.

INT. DINING HALL - NIGHT

The guests are back inside. Alleyleah anxiously looks around

the room for Mike... doesn't see him.

A few moments later and he's right behind her, but she

doesn't hear him. She smells something foul. She notices

the smell coming from behind her and turns to see what it is.

She sees it's Mike. They speak in hushed tones.

ALLEYLEAH

What'd you do, take a garbage

shower?

MIKE

I needed to work up a sweat.

ALLEYLEAH

The antistatic straps would've

prevented an electrostatic

discharge.

MIKE

It never hurts to have back up.

ALLEYLEAH

Did you get it?

He nods. She goes over to Alderon, who is talking with

another woman (Middle-aged with dark hair). She cuts right

in front of her. The lady gives her a dirty look (Alleyleah

has her back to her) and walks off.

ALLEYLEAH

Alderon, this was a lovely party,

but I really must be off.

ALDERON

Alright, it was good to see you. I

hope you can stay longer at my next

bash.

They kiss each other on the cheek, then Alleyleah goes back

to Mike. They leave.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Raphael sits in front of the big screen TV, bored. He

watches "The Colbert Report".

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - RAPHAEL'S BEDROOM - DAY

The room's furnishings include posters of Tim Morehouse and

Jason Rogers, and a huge bookcase that is overfilled.

A cross with Jesus hung from it hangs on one of the walls. A

bible sits on the night stand.

Raphael, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans that look like

they came from a flea market, grabs his backpack off the

desk. He hears the front door open and close. He runs

into...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

To see Mike, now wearing black leather pants and a long-

sleeved, black shirt, carrying a bag. Raphael looks at him,

suspicious.

RAPHAEL

Must've been some party last night.

You didn't come home, you're not

even wearing the same clothes.

MIKE

Oh, well, there was an after party

and it was less formal.

RAPHAEL

You're lying.

MIKE

I'm not. You're twenty-one, you

know what it's like to party all

night long.

He takes a good, long hard look at Raphael.

MIKE

On second thought, maybe you don't.

RAPHAEL

Are you a drug dealer?

MIKE

Am I a what?

RAPHAEL

It would make sense. The house,

the cars, Alleyleah. You ran away

when you were fifteen. I highly

doubt that you graduated from

college and got a high-paying job.

MIKE

I'm not a drug dealer and fuck you

for saying all that shit.

Awkward silence, then:

MIKE

Isn't it about time for you to be

getting to school?

RAPHAEL

I was just leaving.

Raphael leaves. Mike waits a few minutes, then goes by the

big screen TV. There's a tiny red dot right beside it. He

moves his palm over it. The wall slides back and Mike

enters...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LAB - DAY

Dark and cold. It's looks like a room where the F.B.I. or

C.I.A. would test their latest gadgets.

There's actually a table full of gadgets (They're all in a

case). Mike pulls the glasses and spider-like gizmo from last

night out of his bag and puts them in the case.

He moves over to a door by the wall on the far end of the

room. Opens it.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - WEAPONS ROOM - DAY

The room is full of protective armor and weapons. Mike takes

the sphere out of his pocket and places it on the first shelf

in the room. He also throws his bag in here, then leaves.

INT. NYU LECTURE HALL - DAY

The class is at medium capacity.

PROFESSOR HICKS (Slim, fifties, bad hair) stands at the front

of the class, mid-lecture.

Raphael sits in front with Terrence. He has a blank look on

his face. Terrence notices his friend's not all there. He

watches him, worried.

PROFESSOR HICKS (O.S.)

Honesty and intimacy. One can not

exist without the other. You can't

be close to someone you don't trust

and you don't trust someone you're

not close with, but here's the rub:

You can never truly know what's

inside someone's head, therefore,

you can never be completely sure if

they're being honest with you, so

how can you trust them and be

intimate with them?

He pauses for dramatic effect.

PROFESSOR HICKS (O.S.)

Faith. Faith in the person you're

with and believing that he or she

loves you enough to be honest with

you. I think that's all the time

we have for today. I'll see you

all on Thursday and I want your

papers on faith and its role in

today's society.

The students begin clearing out.

TERRENCE

(to Raphael)

You wanna go get something to eat?

Raphael doesn't answer. He's still off in his own little

world. Terrence nudges him.

RAPHAEL

What?

TERRENCE

I said you wanna go get something

to eat.

Raphael takes a while to respond with:

RAPHAEL

Yeah. Yeah, okay.

INT. LOMBARDI'S - DAY

Small, quaint pizza shop. Raphael and Terrence sit at a

table, enjoying a pie.

TERRENCE

So what was up with you in class

today?

RAPHAEL

What do you mean?

TERRENCE

Usually, you're asking all these

questions and taking notes, but

today, it doesn't even seem like

you were there. You didn't even

stare at Karen's boobs today.

They laugh.

TERRENCE

(nervously)

Is... are you still having trouble

with the whole nana situation?

RAPHAEL

Think I'm gonna be having trouble

with that for a while, but it's

actually something else that's

bothering me. The strangest thing

happened yesterday at my grandma's

funeral, after you left: My brother

showed up.

TERRENCE

I thought he ran away like a

gazillion years ago.

RAPHAEL

He did, but somehow, he heard about

the funeral, and he showed up.

TERRENCE

Did he say where he's been?

RAPHAEL

No, but get this: He lives in a

mansion just outside New York and

has like a car lot full of

expensive cars.

TERRENCE

What kind of job does he have and

where can I sign up?

RAPHAEL

He wouldn't tell me that.

TERRENCE

(joking)

Are you sure he's your brother?

Before Raphael can reply:

TERRENCE

(gasps)

Maybe he's Batman!

(off Raphael's look)

You're right, I'm being a total

fanboy.

RAPHAEL

I don't understand him. Obviously,

he wants me around - why else

would he ask me to move in with

him? And why shut me out?

TERRENCE

He asked you to move in with him?

Raphael nods.

TERRENCE

You know what to do then, don't

you?

RAPHAEL

What?

TERRENCE

Snoop through his place, duh!

RAPHAEL

See, I thought about that, but it

just feels wrong.

TERRENCE

You wanna know, don't you?

Raphael weighs his options, then:

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - MIKE'S BEDROOM - DAY

Raphael's going through Mike's stuff. He hasn't found

anything here or in any of the other rooms he's gone through.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Mike, sweaty and dirty, walks in, wearing a track suit.

Raphael looks at him, trying not to show he suspects

something's amiss with his brother.

MIKE

How was school?

RAPHAEL

Fine. Where have you been?

MIKE

Running.

RAPHAEL

Oh.

Raphael doesn't believe him.

RAPHAEL

It's Tuesday. You didn't have to

go to work?

MIKE

It was a short work day.

Awkward silence.

MIKE

I know it seems like I don't care

and that I only invited you to live

with me out of guilt, but I've just

been really busy. But I'm free

tonight and I thought, once I get

myself pretty, we could go to a

bar.

RAPHAEL

I don't drink.

MIKE

Or a club.

RAPHAEL

I don't club.

MIKE

Or whatever, c'mon, man, I'm

tryin', here. Just tell me what

you like to do and we can do it.

INT. MANHATTAN FENCING CENTER - NIGHT

Large spacious room with hardwood floors and several large

windows on the back wall.

Raphael has all his fencing gear on: Mask, lamé (Jacket)

breeches, knee-length socks and gloves. Mike has everything

on, but his mask.

MIKE

I had no idea you fenced.

RAPHAEL

It comes in handy if you need to

lose weight.

MIKE

You were fat?

RAPHAEL

Only for like a few years.

Mike goes to put his mask on... hesitates.

MIKE

You don't have any pent up anger,

do ya?

RAPHAEL

(laughs)

No.

MIKE

Just checkin'.

He puts the mask on. They pick up their sabres.

RAPHAEL

Don't worry, I'll go easy on you.

MIKE

O...kay.

RAPHAEL

First, we salute each other.

They salute.

RAPHAEL

We can skip the stuff about Pistes

and on-guard lines, seeing as how

you're a beginner. Get in a

defensive position.

Mike does, then Raphael does.

RAPHAEL

Get ready... set... go!

They go at it. True to his word, Raphael goes easy on Mike,

just lunging at him, thrusting his saber a few times. Mike

easily deflects the blows.

Raphael ups the ante and to his surprise, Mike is able to

keep up, so he takes it up another notch. He runs, lunges,

and thrusts at Mike with expert precision and Mike continues

to hold his own. He even manages to drive Raphael back.

Not wanting to get his ass handed to him by an amateur,

especially an amateur that is Mike, Raphael goes as hard as

he can, driving Mike back against the wall. Thinking he has

the upper hand, Raphael thrusts.

RAPHAEL

Point!

Mike leaps up and pushes against the wall with his feet,

going into a somersault. He lands behind Raphael. Raphael

spins to attack, but before he can, Mike sweeps his legs out

from underneath him. Raphael lands on his ass. Mike jabs him

with his saber.

MIKE

Point.

Mike backs off to let Raphael up. Raphael stands, furious.

RAPHAEL

This isn't your first time fencing.

MIKE

I never said it was.

RAPHAEL

And that jump-flip thing that you

did - that's not a fencing move.

MIKE

Again, I never said it was.

RAPHAEL

Where'd you learn how to do all

that stuff?

MIKE

Again with the questions.

RAPHAEL

Everyone has questions. It would

be nice if you could answer some of

mine.

MIKE

I could use some dinner. How about

you?

Raphael sighs, frustrated, then:

RAPHAEL

Are you paying?

MIKE

Sure.

RAPHAEL

Okay.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

The room is as plain as it can be: Beige walls with no

decoration and hardwood floors. Raphael sits at a small

wooden table. Mike enters, carrying two plates. He sits one

in front of Raphael and the other by the chair he's gonna sit

in.

RAPHAEL

When you said you were paying, I

thought you meant we were going

out.

MIKE

I don't like eating out. You can

never be too sure of what they're

doin' to your food. Besides,

there's nothin' better than a home

cooked meal.

Mike takes his seat. Raphael looks down at his food:

Zucchini, brown rice, and dolma. Not exactly his favorites.

He looks at Mike.

RAPHAEL

Are you a vegetarian?

MIKE

Yeah.

RAPHAEL

Finally, an answer.

He puts his hands together in prayer position. He closes his

eyes.

RAPHAEL

Bless us, O Lord, and these, thy

gifts, which we are about to

receive from -

MIKE (O.S.)

(laughing)

What the hell are you doing?

Raphael opens his eyes, annoyed as much by Mike interrupting

him saying grace as he is by Mike's language.

RAPHAEL

I'm saying grace.

MIKE

What for?

RAPHAEL

Because that's what good Catholics

do.

MIKE

You don't believe in Santa Claus,

the tooth fairy, and the Easter

bunny anymore, do you?

RAPHAEL

No.

MIKE

Then why do you believe in him?

RAPHAEL

Why don't you?

He gets no answer.

RAPHAEL

Mom and Dad believed in God. And -

MIKE

Yeah, and look at where it got

them.

Incensed, Raphael stands, plate in hand.

RAPHAEL

I think I'd prefer to eat alone.

He leaves.

MIKE

(calling after him)

C'mon, don't be like that. I

didn't mean it like that.

Raphael doesn't come back. Mike's face dours. He starts

eating.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - RAPHAEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Raphael sits on his bed, trying to get into the food Mike

prepared. He psyches himself up... takes a bite... and he

spits it out in disgust. As far as he's concerned, that

stuff tastes worse than dog food. It was time to order

pizza.

LATER THAT NIGHT...

Raphael lies in bed, sound asleep. He hears a crashing

sound. He stirs slightly. He assumes it's nothing, then

goes back to sleep. Another crashing sound. He gets up to

investigate in his T-shirt and sweat pants.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Raphael arrives at the top of the staircase to see Mike, in

his boxers, doing battle with someone. He can't tell who it

is because the lights are off.

Raphael runs down the stairs. He goes to help, but before he

can, the person Mike's fighting throws Mike backwards, toward

Raphael, and good 'ol Raphael breaks his fall.

Mike's assailant breaks out a window and escapes through it.

Mike gets up, pissed. Raphael gets up, mouth ablazing.

RAPHAEL

Who was that? Were we being

robbed?

MIKE

I gotta go.

Mike starts to move. Raphael grabs his arm.

RAPHAEL

No, not without answering me. You

always -

Mike shoves him back, hard. He takes off. Raphael falls on

the floor.

Raphael gets up slowly. He's in a little bit of pain, more

from his brother's treatment of him than the actual shove. He

takes a look around. No Mike in sight, but there's a huge

hole in the wall by the big screen TV. He starts toward it,

then hears a motor start. He runs to...

EXT. MIKE'S HOUSE - FRONT PORCH - NIGHT

He sees Mike pulling out of the garage on a motorcycle,

tricked out with guns. Raphael's flabbergasted. He goes back

into...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Running at a breakneck speed.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - GARAGE - NIGHT

Raphael grabs a set of keys out of a large row of them

hanging on a wall. He gets into a ...

INT. BLACK BMW - NIGHT

Raphael hits a button on the garage door remote control

that's clipped onto the visor. The door flies open and he

zooms out.

EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT

It's closed off. Five odd looking creatures come running

down. They're the same creatures who served champagne at

Alderon's party.

They see that the alley is closed off. They turn to run when

they're cornered by Mike on his chopper. He fires the guns

on his bike, but he only has enough ammo to kill two of them.

He keeps pulling the trigger, though, unaware he's running on

empty.

The creatures don't realize he's on empty, either, so they

run for cover. A moment passes, and then Mike realizes he's

out of bullets as do the creatures. He makes an irritated

noise, then jumps off the bike.

The three remaining creatures attack him, en masse.

MIKE

Throws one, then spins and kicks another, but the third one

grabs him from behind by the throat. He struggles to break

his grip... can't.

The other two creatures have recovered and move in for the

kill...

To the surprise of everyone, a black BMW shows up. That's

all Mike needs. He manages to throw the creature holding him

off and leaps at the other two.

RAPHAEL

Gets out of the car. His eyes widen once he gets a good look

at the creatures' gruesome features. He sees a pipe on the

ground. He picks it up and strikes one of the creatures

attacking Mike on the back.

That gets the creature's attention and makes him come after a

very frightened Raphael.

RAPHAEL

Uses the pipe as a sabre and even lands a few blows on the

creature, before it completely overpowers him. This happens

in the background as:

MIKE

Takes on the other two creatures. Their supernatural

strength is no match for his speed and precision. He manages

to kill one by snapping its neck with his foot.

He starts after the other creature, but out of the corner of

his eye, he sees his bro getting pommeled. He

backhandsprings over to the creature attacking Raphael and

kicks him in the groin (The creature has his back to him).

The creature drops to his knees.

RAPHAEL

Mike!

He tosses Mike the pipe. Mike bashes the creature's head in

until there's nothing left, but a purple stain on the street.

IN THE BACKGROUND

The other creature, seeing all of his comrades have fallen,

runs away. By the time Mike turns around to kill him, he's

long gone.

MIKE

Damn it!

Mike moves toward his motorcycle, with Raphael close behind.

RAPHAEL

Those things... they weren't human,

were they?

MIKE

Let's go home. And don't scratch

my BMW.

Raphael gets in front of him, blocking his path.

RAPHAEL

Hey, I just saved your ass. I

think I deserve an explanation.

MIKE

I believed I saved your ass. Let's

go home and I'll explain

everything.

RAPHAEL

There's nothing to explain. If I

hadn't came when I did, you clearly

would've gotten your ass kicked.

MIKE

I meant about all of the questions

you have.

RAPHAEL

Oh.

Beet red, Raphael sheepishly moves out of his way.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Mike and Raphael sit in lazy boys directly across from each

other.

Mike is now dressed to kill. Literally. He's outfitted with

guns, wrist launchers (Knives attached to a projectile device

on his wrists), and grenades. He's wearing a black leather

body suit akin to the ones worn in the X-men films.

MIKE

You were right about me. I didn't

go to a good college, I didn't even

finish high school.

I'm not book smart like you. But I

am good at one thing, though:

Killing.

Raphael is appalled.

MIKE

I'm a hired gun. Sometimes, I do

other things, but mostly, I'm an

assassin.

RAPHAEL

I can't believe you. How can you

kill people for a living? Who are

you to play judge, jury, and

executioner?

MIKE

Your god does it. What gives him

the right?

RAPHAEL

He doesn't do that. He -

Raphael stops himself, knowing no amount of logical

explanations will bring Mike around to his way of thinking.

RAPHAEL

How can you kill innocent people?

MIKE

I don't kill anyone that's

innocent. I only take down people

who deserve it. And it's not just

people. Those things we were

fighting tonight - they're demons.

That's mostly who I go after.

RAPHAEL

Are all demons evil?

MIKE

No, but the ones who I kill are.

RAPHAEL

Why did they break in?

Mike doesn't say anything. He looks like he's searching for

the words to explain himself, then:

MIKE

The other night, when I went to

that party, I stole something from

a very powerful man - a wizard.

RAPHAEL

A wizard? You mean like Harry

Potter?

MIKE

(unsure)

Uh... yeah, I guess so.

RAPHAEL

What'd you steal?

MIKE

Something that doesn't belong to

him. An ancient artifact. The

very first gosir.

FLASH: The blue and gold sphere.

MIKE

There are other dimensions that

exist besides the one we live in.

Most people don't have access to

them because they don't have the

power to get to them and the ones

who do - like the wizard and

Alleyleah -

Raphael's mouth drops when he hears Alleyleah's name.

MIKE

Will be drained trying to access

them. And when I say "Drained", I

mean they'll die. The gosir takes

care of all of that. The real

owner of the gosir - another

wizard - hired me to find it for

him.

RAPHAEL

But how did the people you stole it

from know where to find you?

MIKE

(shrugs)

Gosir must've had some sort of

tracker on it.

RAPHAEL

And you didn't think to search for

a tracker before you brought it

back here?

MIKE

And since when are you an expert at

this stuff?

RAPHAEL

Sorry.

Raphael sits, mouth shut for a few moments, taking all this

in.

RAPHAEL

I thought once I got some answers

out of you, I'd feel better and

everything would make sense, but

now...

(nervous chuckle)

It would've been so much easier if

you were just a drug dealer. And I

have so much more questions.

MIKE

They'll have to wait. Alleyleah

will be here soon to help me. I

have to get the gosir back, so I

can get paid.

RAPHAEL

And return the gosir to its

rightful owner.

MIKE

Uh... yeah. That, too.

RAPHAEL

What is Alleyleah?

MIKE

She's human.

RAPHAEL

No, I meant is she a witch? If

wizards are real, then witches must

be, too, right?

MIKE

She is a witch, but she prefers to

be called a magical practitioner.

RAPHAEL

You're going to kill them? The

wizard and the demons?

MIKE

I have to. They know where we

live.

Raphael nods, understanding the necessity of the situation.

RAPHAEL

I can help.

MIKE

No, yo' ass is staying here.

RAPHAEL

I helped you earlier tonight.

MIKE

Yeah, against five demons. I'm

talkin' about a whole fortress full

of 'em.

RAPHAEL

All the more reason to let me help

you. You can't do it alone.

Mike starts to put the coup de grace in Raphael's plan to

help, but stops when he realizes what he's saying makes

sense. He goes through the hole in the wall.

Raphael's confused as to what he's doing. He follows him in.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LAB - NIGHT

He sees Mike in the weapons room. He goes over to him, but

doesn't go in.

RAPHAEL

What are you doing?

Mike comes out and hands Raphael a sword. Raphael smiles.

RAPHAEL

I guess this means I can come.

MIKE

You guess right.

They go back into...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

And find Alleyleah just entering. She sees Raphael with the

sword.

ALLEYLEAH

(to Mike)

I guess you decided to tell him.

MIKE

It was that or kill him.

It's clearly a joke, but Raphael, still a little wound up

from the night's events doesn't see it that way.

RAPHAEL

What?

MIKE

Relax, it's a joke. No one's

paying me to kill you. Yet.

RAPHAEL

I don't think all of these killing

jokes are funny.

MIKE

That's cause it's you being made

fun of.

ALLEYLEAH

(annoyed)

Can we go now?

EXT. ALDERON'S FORTRESS - NIGHT

It looks like an old castle.

Mike, Raphael, and Alleyleah are a good distance from the

house, hiding behind some bushes. Mike has his x-ray goggles

on, his eyes scanning over the entire fortress.

Raphael looks at the googles in awe.

RAPHAEL

Those things are cool. Can I have

a pair?

Mike ignores him.

ALLEYLEAH

(impatient)

Well?

A beat, then:

MIKE

It's best if we enter through the

East wing. It's the least guarded.

(to Alleyleah)

We'll take on Alderon's guards

while you take Alderon.

ALLEYLEAH

Okay.

(beat)

I'm gonna be getting a bigger cut

of the money, right?

MIKE

(annoyed)

Yeah.

ALLEYLEAH

Okay.

MIKE

After you kill Alderon, bring out

the gosir. Let's move.

INT. ALDERON'S FORTRESS - EAST WING - NIGHT

A window at the end of the hall pops out and floats in mid

air.

Two purple demons come over to see what's going on. They

each get a bullet in the throat for their trouble. The

window sits down on the floor.

Mike and Raphael come floating in, then Alleyleah.

MIKE

(whispering)

Good work, Alleyleah.

She smiles. The trio start walking, with Mike and Raphael,

sword drawn, going in front of Alleyleah.

A few moments pass and several demons rush them. Alleyleah

uses her power of telekinesis to fling them back, then runs

past them, leaving Mike and Raphael to handle them.

Mike draws two guns and fires down on his enemies, managing

to kill two, but the other two manage to avoid the gunfire.

They charge at Raphael. He swings his sword at them, making

them jump back. Mike pumps them full of bullets.

Mike and Raphael move past the slain demons, but one isn't

completely dead. He grabs Mike's leg, tripping him. Before

Mike can act, Raphael cuts off the demon's head.

Mike looks at Raphael, proud, until he sees how repulsed

Raphael is by what he just did. Concerned, Mike asks:

MIKE

You okay?

RAPHAEL

(shakes head)

I'm fine.

MIKE

(gets up)

Let's go find Alleyleah.

INT. ALDERON'S FORTRESS - BEDROOM - NIGHT

Mike and Raphael arrive in time to see Alleyleah and Alderon

having a magical duel.

ALDERON

Throws a lightning bolt at

ALLEYLEAH

She uses her telekinesis to deflect it. It goes flying

toward

RAPHAEL

He ducks to avoid it, yelling:

RAPHAEL

Holy shit!

The lightning bolt puts a hole in the wall behind Mike and

Raphael.

Raphael's yell distracts Alderon.

ALLEYLEAH

Takes advantage of the distraction, hurling a yellow ball at

ALDERON

It hits him in the chest, knocking him on his ass.

MIKE

Fires a bullet at

ALDERON

But he uses telekinesis to fling the bullet back at Mike.

MIKE

Ducks, the bullet passing over his head. Before

ALDERON

Can refocus his attention on

ALLEYLEAH

She moves her arm at a diagonal angle.

ALDERON

Grabs his throat. A little blood trickles down his neck.

RAPHAEL

Wow.

(to Alleyleah)

Remind me to never get on your bad

side.

MIKE

(to Raphael)

Start looking for the gosir.

They begin ransacking the place. Alleyleah rolls her eyes.

ALLEYLEAH

Hello, guys, after that kick ass

display of magic I just did, I

think I can come up with a spell to

find the gosir.

Mike and Raphael look at each other, embarrassed that neither

of them thought to have Alleyleah use a spell to find the

gosir.

ALLEYLEAH

Return to Mike the ancient power

that he lost in his darkest hour.

In a flash of white light, the gosir appears in Mike's hands.

MIKE

(smiling)

This is -

He stops.

MIKE

I hear foot steps. We need to get

out of here.

Alleyleah thrusts out her palm. The wall she's facing breaks

off from the rest of the room and drops to the ground,

revealing the evening sky.

Alleyleah channels her telekinesis through her hands, using

it to float Mike and Raphael out through the new open space.

They land a good distance away, looking like two little dots

from Alleyleah's point of view. Next, Alleyleah floats

herself out the window. She lands by Mike and Raphael.

Mike pulls out a pack of grenades.

MIKE

(to Alleyleah)

You ready?

She nods. Mike throws the grenade pack in the air.

Alleyleah uses her telekinesis to spread the grenades around

Alderon's fortress evenly...

Then to pull the pins...

5...4...3...2...1!

BOOM!

The fortress is blown to smithereens.

INT. MIKE'S LEXUS SUV - NIGHT

Mike's driving, eyes on the road. Alleyleah rides shotgun,

arms crossed. Her face is expressionless. Raphael sits in

the back, pensive. They ride in silence... then:

RAPHAEL

That was... intense. And kinda

scary.

MIKE

You wanted to come.

RAPHAEL

I'm not complaining, I'm just

saying. At least all we have to do

now is get the gosir to its

rightful owner.

ALLEYLEAH

Rightful owner?

MIKE

Let's save that adventure for

tomorrow. I think we've done

enough work for tonight.

Alleyleah looks from Mike to Raphael. She's figured out

something.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Mike walks down the stairs, dressed in designer jeans and a

black sweater. Raphael meets him at the bottom of the

stairs, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

RAPHAEL

Good morning.

Mike shows he disagrees by giving Raphael a dirty look. He

heads for...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY

He opens the fridge and pulls out a jug of OJ. Pours himself

a glass. Raphael comes in.

RAPHAEL

So you're going to return the gosir

today?

MIKE

Yep.

He drinks some of his juice.

RAPHAEL

Can I come?

MIKE

No.

RAPHAEL

Why?

Mike looks at him. He's not getting where Raphael's coming

from.

MIKE

Why do you wanna go? I know what

I'm doing may seem cool and shit,

but it's not. It's very dangerous.

You're better off going to school

and getting your degree, so you can

take care of yourself. And don't

take that as me thinking of you as

a burden. I'm more than happy to

look after you, I just wanna make

sure you turn out right.

RAPHAEL

I'm twenty-one, not fifteen. I'm

pretty sure I've turned out how I'm

gonna turn out.

Mike smiles at his naiveté.

RAPHAEL

And I don't wanna help you, because

I think what you're doing is cool.

I think what you're doing is

important. You're helping people.

I wanna be a part of that.

Mike shifts uncomfortably. He forces a touched smile.

MIKE

You're still not coming.

He heads back into...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Goes for the coat closet. Raphael comes up behind him.

As Mike puts his jacket on:

RAPHAEL

I still have a lot of questions.

MIKE

I'm sure you do, but that doesn't

mean I'm gonna answer them.

He heads for the front door.

MIKE

You know too much as it is.

He leaves. Raphael looks around, bored. Another day spent

watching TV doesn't appeal to him. He pulls out his cell,

dials.

RAPHAEL

(smiling)

Hey, Terrence. I've got some big

news.

INT. ALLEYLEAH'S PENTHOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Everything in the living room is classic white, even the

bookshelf behind the couch that Alleyleah sits on while she

reads her newspaper.

The front door opens. It's Mike. He smiles at Alleyleah.

She doesn't smile back.

ALLEYLEAH

Here to give me my cut?

He walks toward her.

MIKE

No. Better. You know how I'm

supposed to give the gosir to

Locke?

(she nods)

Well, I was thinking that since I

had to do like five times the work

I was supposed to do, I should get

five times the pay.

ALLEYLEAH

Ha! Good luck with getting that.

Locke is never gonna pay you extra

for something that was your fault

to begin with.

He joins Alleyleah on the couch.

MIKE

I figured that, which is why I'm

not gonna give him the gosir.

(off Alleyleah's shocked

look)

This is the very first gosir we're

talking about. I could probably

get millions for it if I did an

open auction or put it on the black

market. That makes the five

hundred-grand Locke was gonna give

me look like chump change.

ALLEYLEAH

What are you gonna tell Locke when

he asks about the gosir?

MIKE

Got the perfect story, thanks to

Alderon.

ALLEYLEAH

This is crazy. You're asking for

trouble.

MIKE

So what else is new? Can you wait

just a little longer for your cut?

She nods.

ALLEYLEAH

So how's your brother taking to all

this?

MIKE

(groans)

Oh. Don't even get me started on

him. He wants to work with me.

ALLEYLEAH

I didn't mean that.

He looks at her, genuinely confused.

MIKE

Well, what do you mean?

ALLEYLEAH

You know what I mean. That

"rightful owner" business from last

night is what I mean.

MIKE

So I told him a little white lie,

so he can sleep at night. Why do

you care?

ALLEYLEAH

Because I keep getting put in the

middle of your lies, that's why I

care.

MIKE

(sighs)

Look, my brother's not like us. He

wouldn't take to the shit I do.

ALLEYLEAH

He's gonna find out sooner or

later.

MIKE

So all of a sudden you're a psyhic?

She laughs sarcastically.

MIKE

Don't worry about my brother. I'll

handle him. Anything else?

ALLEYLEAH

Just make sure you get me money.

MIKE

Right. Anything else besides that?

She shakes her head.

MIKE

Okay, I'm gonna go get something

cooking.

He smiles at her, then heads for the door.

EXT. GARRISON'S CONSULTING FIRM - DAY

It's a huge skyscraper of a building. "Garrison's

Consulting" is written in a large gold font in the middle of

the building.

Mike's SUV pulls into the parking lot.

INT. THEO'S OFFICE - DAY

A cute, black man in his early forties sits in a leather

reclining chair behind a large marble desk. His charisma is

palpable as he labors over some book on his desk. His name

is THEO GARRISON.

The book that requires so much concentration from him is... a

sodoku book.

The intercom on his desk buzzes.

THEO

Yes?

ASSISTANT (O.S.)

Mr. Garrison, Michael Sykes is here

to see you.

Theo smiles when he hears Mike's name.

THEO

Send him in.

A few moments pass, then Mike saunters in. He and Theo smile

at each other. Mike pulls up a seat across from Theo, who

can't stop smiling at him.

THEO

Haven't seen you in a while.

MIKE

I know. Heavy workload keepin' me

busy.

THEO

What brings you here?

MIKE

Heavy workload that's keepin' me

busy.

Mike chuckles. Theo becomes crestfallen when he hears that's

the reason Mike's there.

MIKE

Can you set up an auction for

tonight?

THEO

That's pretty short notice. You

better have something that's worth

it.

MIKE

I do. I have the very first gosir.

Theo tries to contain his astonishment, but can't.

THEO

How do you have the very first

gosir? It's not exactly something

someone would give up without a

fight.

MIKE

It's a long story, but I do have

it.

THEO

How big of a cut are you offering

me?

MIKE

Twenty percent.

THEO

Thirty.

MIKE

No way.

THEO

Hey, I'm setting up an auction for

you on short notice and the first

gosir is gonna make huge money, so

I think thirty is fair.

MIKE

You're right. The first gosir is

gonna make a huge amount of money

and if you don't wanna take twenty

for helping me, someone else will.

They have a bit of a staring contest, then Theo caves,

smiling.

THEO

Okay. I had to try. Twenty

percent it is. I'll call you once

everything's set up.

MIKE

Great. Just one thing: Make sure

the bidding starts at half-a

million.

THEO

That won't be a problem. It is the

first gosir, afterall.

Mike nods, then leaves. Theo, watches him as he goes, with a

look of discontent on his face.

INT. LOCKE'S CHAMBERS - DAY

It looks like a bomb shelter from the forties that hasn't

been maintained, except for the ruby encrusted throne that is

its center piece.

A preternaturally, old man occupies the throne. His facial

features make him look like he may have been a victim of

inbreeding. This is LOCKE.

Mike approaches him, flanked by two of Locke's bodyguards,

who look like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

Locke smiles at Mike, then sends his bodyguards away with a

wave of his hand.

LOCKE

Where is it?

MIKE

There was a complication: I tried

to get the gosir from Alderon, but

there were so many booby traps... I

accidently set one off. Alderon

and his troops came running, and

there was a huge fight, and the

only way I could get out was to

blow the place up. I didn't even

get a chance to touch the gosir,

let alone steal it.

Incensed, Locke stands and gets in Mike's face.

LOCKE

You didn't even get a chance to

touch it? You come highly

recommended - "one of the best" is

what I believe one of your

references called you - and you

didn't even get a chance to touch

it? And then you blow it up? You

are pathetic.

Mike comes back at Locke, just as angry.

MIKE

Let's see you try and take out a

fortress full of Izzo demons and a

extremely powerful wizard, then

talk.

LOCKE

I don't have to try. I know I can

do it.

MIKE

Then what you'd need me for, if

you're so powerful?

LOCKE

Because Alderon was well loved. If

I had taken him on, it would've

been me versus practically the

entire magical community.

(more to himself than

Mike)

Though I wouldn't have been

surprised if someone else had

killed him if they knew he had the

first gosir.

(to Mike)

What are you still doing here?

Don't tell me you're still

expecting to get paid?

MIKE

No. I just wasn't sure if we were

done here.

LOCKE

We are.

Mike leaves.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Mike returns, ready for a quick nap before tonight's events,

but he stops when he sees Raphael sitting on the couch with

Terrence (They're both looking at him - Raphael's glad to

see him, whereas Terrence looks at him the way a fan would

look at a celebrity).

Terrence goes over to Mike, Raphael close behind him, and

kneels at Mike's feet.

TERRENCE

You are my hero.

Mike looks at him like he's crazy. He turns to Raphael.

MIKE

Who the hell is this and what is he

doing in my house?

Terrence steps back, surprised by Mike's brusqueness.

Mike looks at Raphael, pissed.

MIKE

I wanna see you outside, right now.

Mike heads toward the back of the room. Raphael, knowing

he's in trouble, follows behind him.

EXT. MIKE'S BACK YARD - DAY

Mike and Raphael come out onto the large deck. There's also

an Olympic-sized swimming pool here, equipped with pool toys.

Mike spins on Raphael, still fuming.

MIKE

You told him!

RAPHAEL

Well, you never said I couldn't

tell anyone.

MIKE

If I didn't even want you to know,

why would I want a complete

stranger to?

Raphael turns red with embarrassment. He mumbles a:

RAPHAEL

Sorry.

Mike puts his hands over his face. One...two...three... He's

a little calmer. He uncovers his face.

MIKE

Have you told anyone else?

All Raphael, still feeling bad, manages to do is shake his

head.

MIKE

Good. Don't and tell your little

friend not to tell anyone, either.

RAPHAEL

Okay.

(beat)

Will you come meet him?

MIKE

No. He's your friend, not mine.

I've had a long day. All I wanna

do is relax.

RAPHAEL

So you got the gosir back to its

rightful owner?

MIKE

Yeah.

RAPHAEL

How much do I get?

MIKE

None.

RAPHAEL

What do you mean "none", I helped!

MIKE

Yeah, and I'm paying your tuition

and room and board.

RAPHAEL

God, you're a hardass.

They go back into...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Raphael goes over by Terrence, who's sitting on the couch.

Mike starts to go upstairs, then stops. He goes over by

Raphael and Terrence. Terrence sits there, frozen, afraid to

look up at his idol.

MIKE

(to Terrence)

I'm... uh... sorry about before...

He trails off, not knowing his name.

TERRENCE

(smiling)

Terrence. It's okay, I get it.

You don't like it that your

secret's out. I just want you to

know you don't ever have to worry

about me telling anyone. They can

torture me for forever and your

secret will still be safe with me.

MIKE

Thanks.

Mike goes upstairs.

TERRENCE

(to Raphael)

He's so cool.

RAPHAEL

He's not that cool.

TERRENCE

Yes, he is. You're so lucky to

have a superhero for a brother.

RAPHAEL

He's not a superhero.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - MIKE'S BEDROOM - DAY

Mike comes in, collapses on his bed. As soon as he does, his

cell rings. He lets it go for a few rings, hoping the caller

will eventually give up, but after the third ring, he pulls

his cell out of his pocket. He answers it with a bit of an

attitude.

MIKE

Yeah?

He perks up once he realizes it's:

MIKE

Theo?

(beat)

That's great.

(beat)

530 Prescott lane. Okay, I will be

there. Thanks.

He hangs up, then falls back on his bed and closes his eyes.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LAB - NIGHT

Mike has body armor on. He has a gun strapped to each of his

ankles and he has wrist launchers on as well.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Mike enters, wearing a tux. He sees a post-it on the coffee

table. He grabs it. It reads "Me and Terrence went to the

movies. We took the black BMW (Don't worry, I'll take good

care of it). Be back around 11. Raphael."

Mike smiles. One less problem for tonight.

INT. AUCTION HOUSE - NIGHT

Another black tie event. Humans and various demons fill

several rows of chairs. Alleyleah, dressed in a black

evening gown, and Mike, and Theo, in tuxes, stand off to the

side, watching.

MIKE

(to Theo)

You weren't kidding when you said

you got a great turnout. We

shouldn't have any trouble clearing

a million.

The AUCTIONEER (A squid-like demon, also in a tux) stands at

a podium, addressing the audience.

AUCTIONEER

I hope everyone's dinner was

splendid. Let's get down to the

real reason why we're here: The

very first gosir. The creme de la

creme of priceless artifacts.

He gestures toward a glass box to his right that contains the

priceless relic.

AUCTIONEER

Of course, we really can't place a

price on something this special...

but if we could, we'd start at five

hundred-grand, do I have five

hundred-grand?

A human male in the front row raises his hand.

AUCTIONEER

We have five-hundred, do I hear six

hundred?

An OLD CRONE in the back, wearing wolf skins, raises her

hand.

AUCTIONEER

Six-hundred, what about seven

hundred?

A demon covered in spikes (SPIKE DEMON) stands.

SPIKE DEMON

One-million dollars.

AUCTIONEER

One-million, two-million, anyone?

The Old Crone raises her hand again.

AUCTIONEER

Two-million -

SPIKE DEMON

(standing)

Five-million!

OLD CRONE

(standing)

Ten-million!

Mike, Theo, and Alleyleah look at each other, giddy as:

AUCTIONEER (O.S.)

Going once... twice... sold to -

VROOM!

A silver light speeds through the air and hits the Old Crone

square in the chest. She hits the floor, dead. Everyone

turns to look in the back of the room (The direction the

silver light came from). They see:

LOCKE

Wait just a goddamn minute. You're

selling something that belongs to

me.

He also has two dozen of his bodyguards with him. The

Auctioneer, feeling bold, decides to play hero.

AUCTIONEER

You can't just come in here,

killing -

VROOM!

Another silver light flies out and hits the Auctioneer in the

forehead. He's gone.

LOCKE

Anymore objections?

Everyone remains silent in their seats, not sure what's going

on.

MIKE

Oh, shit.

(to Theo - whispering)

How could you invite him?

THEO

How could I not? You said you

wanted to sell the thing and he is

a major player.

Theo senses something's amiss. He casts a suspicious eye on

Mike.

THEO

Why shouldn't I have invited him?

LOCKE (O.S.)

Allow me to answer that.

Locke has made his way up to the podium. He stares daggers

at Mike.

LOCKE

You see, Michael here stole the

very first gosir from me.

Everyone gasps in awe. Locke smiles proudly.

LOCKE

Yes, that's right. I own the very

first gosir.

Theo looks at Mike, pissed.

LOCKE

I'll be taking my gosir now.

He reaches for the gosir and bullets come flying at him. He

jumps back.

He looks at Mike, who has two guns trained on him.

MIKE

You know damn well that that wasn't

yours to begin with. You had me -

VROOM!

A silver light flies at Mike and he dodges it, expertly.

Locke keeps throwing silver lights at him, and Mike continues

to dodge them while:

MIKE

You tried to get me to steal the

very first Gosir from Alderon and

when I refused, you killed him.

Who else would've had the power to

destroy him and his entire

compound? Afterwards, I stole the

Gosir from you.

The CROWD gasps again, this time in disgust.

CROWD

He killed Alderon! Get him!

The Crowd moves in on Locke. He throws silver lights at

them, killing some, but it's not enough to keep the crowd at

bay. Seeing this, Locke's guards jump in the melee.

Mike works his way through the crowd and grabs the gosir. He

runs it over to Theo.

MIKE

Hide.

Theo runs down a hall.

MIKE

(to Alleyleah)

You ready?

ALLEYLEAH

For what?

MIKE

We gotta take out Locke.

The Crowd can barely hold its own against Locke and his

bodyguards.

ALLEYLEAH

No way. I told you, you were

playing with fire and now you're

about to get burned.

Mike looks at her, taken aback by Alleyleah's refusal to

help. His look of surprise changes to one of anger. He runs

off to join the battle.

MIKE

Opens fire on Locke's bodyguards with his guns. He manages

to kill three before he runs out of bullets. Several more

demons rush him.

MIKE

Drops kicks one, punches another, and flips over the other

two. They turn just in time to receive a kick in the face

from Mike. They go down.

TWO DEMONS

Get killed by a couple of Locke's bodyguards. The Spike

Demon comes up behind them, stabbing them in the back.

MIKE

Flips through the air. He lands and clotheslines one of

Locke's bodyguards, throws another.

BAM !

MIKE

Takes down several more of Locke's goons with a series of

impressive kicks. He sees

LOCKE

Frantically searching the area for the gosir. He starts to

go down the same hall Theo went down.

MIKE

Somersaults over to him, his feet connecting to Locke's chest

before he lands.

LOCKE

Goes flying into the podium. He gets up, teeth bared, to see

Mike running toward him.

VROOM!

LOCKE

Sends several silver lights Mike's way.

MIKE

Manages to dodge all but one of them. It catches him in the

shoulder, knocking him on his ass. He's unconscious.

LOCKE

Goes over to Mike, standing over him, ominously. He raises

his hand to strike the final blow...

ALLEYLEAH

She sees Mike out cold and about to buy the farm. It puts

the fear of God in her...

MIKE

Pops up (He was just playing possum)and shoots one of the

knives in his wrist launcher into Locke's gut.

LOCKE

Looks at Mike, shocked that this mere mortal was capable of

taking him down, then his body goes flying.

MIKE

Looks ahead, seeing Alleyleah behind where Locke was

standing, her arm outstretched. He smiles at her.

MIKE

I thought you weren't gonna help.

ALLEYLEAH

(shrugs)

I wasn't, but then I thought if you

died, I wouldn't get paid.

She smiles at him.

Mike gets up. He has a large cut on his shoulder that's

still bleeding. He takes a look around, checking out how the

battle's going: The last of Locke's bodyguards are being

killed by the auction attendees.

MIKE

Theo, you can come out now.

Theo comes running down the hall, the glass box in his hands.

THEO

(to Mike)

Did you really steal the Gosir from

Locke?

MIKE

No.

Theo breathes a sigh of relief.

ALLEYLEAH

He stole it from Alderon, because

Locke hired him to, then decided to

keep it and sell it himself,

because he felt he had worked too

hard for it to let it go for five

hundred-grand.

Mike shoots her a look.

ALLEYLEAH

That's what you get for lying all

the time.

Theo just stares at Mike in disbelief.

THEO

How could you do that to me? I

trusted you -

The Spike Demon comes over.

SPIKE DEMON

I don't mean to interrupt, but

seeing as how the highest bidder is

dead -

He points at the Old Crone's trampled, limp body.

SPIKE DEMON

I thought as runner up, I could

fulfill her duties for her.

Looks of excitement pass between Mike, Alleyleah, and Theo as

they realize the night can still be salvaged.

THEO

(smiles)

Sold!

He goes to shakes hands with the Spike Demon, but withdraws

his hand once he realizes that the demon's hands are covered

in spikes as well.

SPIKE DEMON

Do you take personal checks?

Theo shoots him a look.

SPIKE DEMON

Didn't think so. I have the cash

with me, I'll be right back.

THEO

And we'll be waiting.

The Spike Demon walks away.

MIKE

Five-million dollar payday...

better than what we started out

with.

He smiles.

THEO

Money-wise... but you've lost me.

I'll finish this deal, but that's

it.

Mike is genuinely shocked by how upset Theo is.

MIKE

All this over a little white lie?

THEO

It's more than a little white lie.

All the dead bodies prove that.

Not to mention the fact that you

put my ass and my reputation on the

line. What if things hadn't worked

out for us? What if we had died

because of your little white lie?

Mike has no response for that, so uncomfortable silence

befalls them.

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Mike enters to find Raphael sitting on the couch, channel

surfing.

Raphael turns toward his brother. He becomes alarmed when he

sees a bandage on his shoulder.

RAPHAEL

You went on a mission.

Mike starts to lie, but stops himself. He simply nods.

RAPHAEL

Are you okay?

(Mike nods)

Why didn't you tell me? I would've

went with you.

MIKE

Which is why I didn't tell you.

He takes a seat on the couch beside Raphael. Raphael

scrunches up his nose once he gets a whiff of Mike.

RAPHAEL

You stink.

MIKE

That's what happens when you fight

the forces of evil: You get all

sweaty and stinky.

RAPHAEL

How much longer are you gonna keep

shutting me out?

MIKE

I guess they don't teach you how to

segue at NYU

RAPHAEL

Mike...

Mike gets up, heading for...

INT. MIKE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT

Raphael follows him in.

RAPHAEL

Mike -

MIKE

I made five-million today. Have a

glass of wine with me to celebrate.

He opens the fridge.

RAPHAEL

I already told you I don't drink.

Answer my question.

Mike pulls out a bottle of white wine and a bottle of cola.

He sits them on the kitchen island.

MIKE

I'm not shutting you out of my

life, just my job. I don't wanna

hear anymore about it. Understood?

Raphael nods, even though he's still not satisfied with the

answer he got.

MIKE

How about I have a glass of wine

and you have a cup of Coke?

Raphael smiles at Mike. Mike smiles back.

If you like this story, purchase the entire the book, Pyrrhic

Victory, check out the website listed as my home page.

Copyright © owned by author.


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